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(No Model.) I l 4 Sheets-Sheet I. P. RRIORARDS,

REGULATOR FOR GRAIN SCALES.

No. 442,711. Patented Dec. 16, 1890.

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P. RICHARDS.

REGULATOR FOR GRAIN SCALES. N0.I44Z,'711'. Patented Dec. 16, 1890.-

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' REGULATOR 'FOR GRAIN SCALES. I No. 442,711; Patented Dec. 16, 1890.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4,

F. H. RICHARDS. REGULATOR FOR GRAIN SCALES.

No. 442,711. Patented Dec. 16, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE PRATT & \VHITNEY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

REGULATOR l-OR GRAIN-SCALES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 442,711, dated December 16,1890. Application filed September 17, 1889. Serial No. 324,242. (No model.)

T0 whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS 1-1. RIcHARDs,a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Regulators for Grain- WVeighers, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention is in the nature of an improvement on the invention described and claimed in my application, Serial No. 1,104, filed February 20, 1890.

The invention consists in certain improvements in the combination described and broadly claimed in my application, Serial No. 310,814, filed February 17, 1890, to which ref erence may be had.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating that feature or defect of my said prior invention which my present improvement is more especially designed to overcome. Fig. 2 is a plan View of so much of an automatic grainaveigher as embodies my present improvement. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same. Figs. 4 and 5 are two views similar to the upper portion of Fig. 3, showing the valve-actuating devicesin different positions, respectively. Figs. 6 and 7 are a side and plan view, respectively, of one modification of said valve actuating mechanism. Figs. 8 and 9 are similar views of another modification of the same mechanism, and Figs. 10 and 11 similar views of a further modification thereof. Figs. 12 and 13 are similar views, respectively, of a further modification of the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Fig. 14: is a plan view of the under side of the supply-chute, showing an improved construction thereof.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures.

It will be remembered that in the machine described in said prior application the cam for opening the cut-off valve is not fixed directly on the main beam, but is formed on or affixed to a supplemental beam or lever that is fitted to be shifted on said main beam, whereby the cams (cam) may be thrown into an inoperative positionwhether or not the main beam stands in its upper or in its lower position, this shifting movement being derived from regulator devices. In Fig. 1 I

have shown the said supplemental beam or lever 90 shifted to permit the closing of the valve '70, while the main beam Bis standing in its uppermost position. It now the regulator devices shall so operate as to draw down the rod 95, then the said lever 90 will be swung on its pivot 91, (which, it should be noted, is on the main beam,) and will actupwardly on the cam 77 on the valverarm 72 of the valve 70, and consequently will react downwardly on said pivot 91. Ordinarily and in largersized machines this feature is not deemed especially detrimental; but in small-sized machines the thrust thus applied to said pivot,

this being necessarily so far from the axis21 of the beam, tends to turn the beam on its axis, and thus to prematurely lower the bucket and discharge therefrom the load of grain uncompleted. The object, then, of my present improvements is to furnish a regulator apparatus in which the shifting on the main beam of the valve-actuating device shall not act on the beam in the manner above pointed out.

As in my said prior invention, so in my present invention, the valve-actuating device carried on or by the main beam is constructed to be shifted on said beam to render such device inoperative toactuate the valve. This shifting movement, according to my present improvements, is made about radial to the axis of the beam, this being adopted for the purpose of preventing the action of said device from imparting a movement, as above described, to-the beam on its said axis. To this end the shifting movement of such valve-actuating device is derived or obtained by and through a shifting device which reacts against some point or part on the main beam itself usually and preferably in a direction substantially in alignment with the said shifting movement and coinciding substantially with the axis of the beam. The particular construction'of this shifting device may be varied, and 1 have shown and described herein several analogous forms thereof, all of which, however, operate on the same principle. In the general views, Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, the form of said device shown is a plain linkage con structed and arranged to react against the pin or stud 105, that is fixed in the arm 106 of the main beam, and to be operated by the rod 95 from the regulator-hopper .1. This hopper, together with its pivots 7 and weighted arm 10, is or may be the same as the corresponding parts in my said prior application. The rod 95 being connected at 110 to the lever 10 is actuated by said lever on the rising or falling of the hopper. The upper end of said rod connects to the pin 10S,fixcd in the link 112. Another link 114: is connected at one end to said pin 108 and at the other end to the pin 107 in slide 115. This slide or shiftable block is shown fitted to be moved in the sleeve 113 of the arm 19 in a direction substantially radial to the axis 21 of the main beam. At its front end said block 115 is formed into a cam 116, which acts on the cam 118 of the arm 120 of the cut-off valve 70, this valve being pivoted by its arms 72 on pivots 55, that are fixed in the end walls of the supplychute 11. In practice I extend the arm 120 beyond cam 11S and fix thereon a suitable weight 11!), whose purpose is to bear the cam 118 down onto the cam 110, when the latter lies below the former, as in Fig. st, and thus impart a dis tinct downward thrust on the beam itself, the object of this thrust being to furnish power to send down the poised bucket Gand thus uneatch the latches thereof to discharge the load therefrom. For a particular description of the said bucket and latches and of the hangers and closers therefor and minor details thereof reference may be had to the application of 0. .ll. Cooley, Serial No. 508,474, to which 1 have permission to refer.

The normal operation of the main beam and cut-off valve is shown in Figs. 3 and t. In these views the links 112 and 111 stand in about a straight. line, the middle pivot 108 of the linkage being substantially coincident with the axis 21 of the beam. By virtue of this arrangement any force or resistance acting on the cam 116 does not tend materially to change the position of said links, but is transmitted directly to the pin 105, or if lateral to said block 115 is taken by sleeve 113. The linkage remaining as just described, the cam or valve actuator 116 lies under cam 118 when the beam is down, as in Fig. 4, and on the rising of said beam, as in Fig. 3, bears against cam 118, thus opening the valve 70, as there shown. This mode of operation may be properly designated as the normal operation of the valve-actuating mechanism for the cut-off valve.

To understand the operation of the mechanism for the regulation of the machine let us refer to Fig. i, and suppose that, the beam being down, the bucket G, Fig. 3, has discharged its load into the hopper I and carried this down, as there indicated by dotted lines. This moves up rod 95 and the links 112 11a and draws back the block 115, as shown in Fig. 5, so that on the rising of the beam, cam, or valve actuator 116 clears cam 11S and tints leaves the valve closed and causes the machine to come to a standstill. The grain in hopper P bein sufliciently discharged, the weight 1]. draws down rod and acting on the said linkage forces forward the cam or valve-act uator 11.6 against cam 11S, and thus opens the valve 70, as in 3, and thus starts the machine into'operation again. The thrust of rod 95 being in aline coincident substantially with the axis 21, does not materially tend to turn the beam on said axis; but the force of said rod being transmitted through the linkage expends its power directlv between the cam 11S and the pin in a line also passing through the plane substantially of said axis. The result is that the action of the regulator apparatus is practically neutralized and exerts no material effect on the beam nor impairs the weighing operation.

The valve 70 is a cut-off for cutting off the small stream of grain or drip, by which the load is completed. Another valve 60 is employed to reduce the main column of grain before the valve 70 begins to operate. This reducing-valve is carried by arms (32 on the shaft 52, and is operated directly from the main beam through an arm 57 thereof, acting on thereducing-cam 56, thatis attach ed to said shaft 52. The lower face of this cam is curved, so that the point of contact thereof with said arm 57 moves out as the beam descends, thus lengthening the distance from shaft 52 to said point; of contactand reducing the effect on the beam of the weight of said cam and reducing-valve. The result of this construction is to slowly carry the valve 00 under the spout 65 of the chute if and thus to gratinally reduce the flow of grain into the bucket G. The object of this feature is to overcome the effect of the rapid filling of the bucket and lessen the momentum acquired by the bucket during the early part of its descent by lessening the velocity of that descent.

The main or reducing valve 60 being actuated directly from the beam, the regulator apparatus is not operative to stop the machine until the bucket has received the major part of its load and the said valve 60 has closed. This effect, however, is not objectionable, since the machine thus starts more promptly when the valve 70 is opened by the regulator.

The proper proportion between the first or major part of the load and that part of the load made up by the drip is determined by the weight on arm 57, which is regulated in practice by trial, being graduated until a suit able and smooth action of the machine is socured. For this purpose I ordinarily use a separate weight 5st on the reducing-cam 50, which weight if not correct may be replaced by others, or may be adjusted longitudinally of said cam. In practice I weight said cam 5o so as to begin shutting the valve 60 when the bucket is about or nearly four-sixths loaded, and then experimentally shape the cam 56 and adjust the weightthereon to close the valve 60 when about five-sixths of the load is in the bucket, leaving about one-sixth of the load to be completed by the drip.

The

said operations of shaping and adjustment spring 169 in a well-known manner, or the should be carried on together. and are readily cam may be a closed cam whose grooves performed in any given instance by skillful engage a pin on the slide, in a manner too 70 mechanics who are familiar with the art of well known to require description.

laying out cams in general, and are also prac- In Figs. 12 and 13 the cam 116 is formed on tically acquainted with this class of automatic a block 185, that is pivotally supported at 186 grain-weighing machines. It will be under on the beam-arm 19, and is actuated by the stood that the beam leaves the cam 56 just devices shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In this in- 75 prior to the cam 11S passing under the cam stance the block 185 is an obvious equivalent to 116, which latter operation causes the bucket for the slide 115 of the preceding figures.

to be discharged of its load. The cut-off valve 70, having the weighted In Fig. 14 I have shown a plan view of the cam-arm,is of thekind described and claimed lower end of the supply-chute 65 constructed in the joint application of C. H. Cooley and 80 with two drip-channels 140 140 on the rear- F. H. Richards, Serial No. 339,967, filed Feb- [5 ward side thereof. The main valve 60 closes ruary 11, 1890.

under said chute from the direction of arrow The redueing-valve 60, combined with the h up to about the line 6 f, thus shutting ofi valve-actuating lever or cam-arm thereof and the main column of descending grain and operated by an arm of the scale-beam, is de- 8 leaving only the channels 140 to be closed by scribed and claimed in the application of C.

the cutoff valve 70. This latter valve, it will H. Cooley, Serial No. 338,818, filed January be noticed in Figs. 3A., and 5, is hung on piv- 31, 1890, to which I have permission to refer. ots much lower than the pivot 52 of valve 60, Having thus described my invention, I so that the arms 72 are much shorter than claim 9 arms This construction gives to the weight 1. In a regulator grain-weigher, the combi- 2 5 119 a greater travel than it otherwise would nation of the supply-chute, the main beam, a have, so that while it stands nearly above valve arranged to close said chute, devices pivot 55 in Fig. 3 and exerts only a slight carried on the main beam for actuating the force against cam 116 in Fig. 1 it lies far to valve and constructed, substantially as de- 95 one side of said pivot and exerts aheavy pressscribed, to be shiftable on said beam substanure on said cam, this effect being for the purtially radially to the axis thereof, and means pose hereinbefore pointed out. By said confor making inoperative said devices by shiftstruction, also, the cam 118 is above said pivot ing the same on said beam in said direction,

55, so that a forward movement of cam 116 substantially as described. ioo operates to open the valve 7 O, and vice versa, 2. In a regulator grain-weigher, the combi- 3 5 which mode of operation is obviously most fanation of the supply-chute, the main beam, a

vorable to the employment for actuating the valve arranged to close said chute, the radicam 116 of the actuator-shifting device herein ally-shifta-ble actuator carried on said main shown and described. This feature of the beam, the pivot 105, fixed on said beam,'and 105 regulator apparatus is described and claimed a shifting device acting between the said actin the joint application of C. H. Cooley and uator and pivot and actuated from a regula- F. H. Richards, Serial No. 339,967, filed Fcbtor-hopper, all substantially as described. ruary 11, 1890. 3. In a regulator grain-weigher, the combi- As hereinbefore stated, the particular form nation of the supply-chute, the main beam,a 1 IO and arrangement of the actuator-shifting devalve arranged to close said chute and havvice may be varied or modified. ing a cam on the arm thereof, the radially- In Figs. 6 and 7 the form of said device is movable actuator carried on said beam and that of an angle-lever 160, pivotallysupported located to actuate said valve by acting against on and in proper relation to the beam, and the cam thereof, and the actuator-shifting :15 connected at one end to said shiftable valvelinks 112 and 111, actuated by a rod from the actuating device or element 115 by a link 161 regulator-hopper and reactingagainst a point and at the other end to rod 95. Thepivot 108, on the beam, all substantially as described.

as in the previous instance, coincides sub- 4. In a regulator grain-weigher, the combistantially with the axis of the beam when the nation, with the supply-chute and the beam, red 95 is down, as shown in Fig. 6. of the valve 70, pivoted as set forth and hav- 55 In Figs. 8 and 9 the form of said device is ing a cam on the weight-arm thereof, and a that of a rotary reciprocating cam 170, which shiftable actuator on the beam, arranged to bears or reacts against the pin 105 in subopen said valve by acting on the cam thereof stantial alignment with the movement of the in a direction substantially radial to the axis block 115, which has in this case a roller 171 of the beam, said valve-cam being constructed 60 bearing on the face 172 of said cam. and arranged to bear down on the shiftable In Figs. 10 and 11 a further modification actuator when the beam descends to close is shown, wherein the cam is made to slide said valve, all substantially as described. between guides 174 175 and crosswise to the T a w line of movement of the sliding part 115. FEAT RICHARDS 65 The mode of operation, h0wever,isin no wise \Vitnesses:

materially changed. In each ofthe preeed- L. C. HEERMANN, in g cases the slide 115 may be retracted by a HENRY L. RECKARD. 

